LG G Flex is the second smartphone in the world to have a curved screen, next only to Samsung Galaxy Round.

LG G Flex has a 6-inch flexible OLED screen that is curved along the horizontal axis. The phone’s 3,500mAh battery is also curved.

The G Flex’s curved screen provides the same viewing experience from 1 feet away that a 55-inch HDTV does from 10 feet.

Key specifications of LG G Flex include a 720 display, 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. Just like LG G2, the new G Flex has the power key and volume buttons on the back, positioned below a 13MP camera with LED flash.

Market research agency IHS noted that LG Electronics’ announcement at CES 2014 that it will ship a curved smartphone using a flexible display to the U.S. market in the first quarter stirred excitement for mobile industry.

However, technical challenges related to the manufacturing of flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays mean it will take several years before curved phones and panels are manufactured in high volumes, according to IHS.

Global shipments of flexible AMOLED display panels for smartphones are expected to amount to 814,000 units in 2014, IHS said.

Shipments will remain limited in 2015, 2016 and 2017, reaching only 1.9 million, 4.5 million and 8.3 million, respectively, during those years. Even so, shipments will nearly double every year within the period.

LG rival Samsung Display also has started mass production of flexible displays for mobile applications in 2013. The company is producing flexible AMOLED screens based on a 5.5G plastic substrate in the A2 Ph3 line.

The major challenge in producing flexible AMOLED displays is finding a material that can replace glass and is optically superior while achieving a stable manufacturing process. This drives up cost because of materials used and processes employed to achieve stabilized production.